Double Standard = Insecurity

Yesterday because of a conversation among my friends, I realized that I have a problem... which is a relieve because I've been feeling uneasy and have unspeakable questions on my mind about certain things in my life. Now since I have known the root of my problem, I can start to put His Words to me into action...

Yap, He has already given me the solution before I knew what exactly my problem is... You're so amazing God... Thank You...

The root of my problem is because I have my own standard about how things should be like in my life. There are few areas where I still hold on to my own standard and when my current condition doesn't reflect that standard (I don't achieve what I thought I should have achieved by now or I don't be in a position where I thought I should have been by now), I get confused, insecure, and begin questioning myself and God.

It's true what has been said in Isaiah 55:8, "'For My thoughts [are] not your thoughts, Nor [are] your ways My ways,' says the LORD".

It's undeniable fact that each of us have our own standards about the best timing, the best achievement, the best job, the best income or salary rate, etc... Although what we have is probably a good life standard (at least according to our point of view), but still... often it doesn't in line with His standard. Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, no matter how big our hope (and how often we pray) to achieve something that goes with our standard, it just can't happen in the present time...

And the questions begin to rambling around in our heads...
"Am I too late to do this thing? Why didn't I do this earlier?"
"Have I been so stupid before? Maybe it wouldn't have to be this way if I tried harder..."
"Have I made a mistake and careless with my previous decisions that brought me to this position right now?"
"Did I lack of motivations? I thought I should be better than my dad, but look at me now... I even couldn't make him proud of me..."

Maybe you also have similar or other questions...
Well, I think the main problem is that we don't get what we want/wish, based on our standard...

We might be forget that our life is a life we live in Him... It means, if we grow in His truth and grow to become closer in our relationship with Him, naturally, His thoughts will be our thoughts, and we will be able to easily surrender our thoughts/will/hope that isn't come from Him. This is possible because we are created according to His image.

So, the only one standard we must hold on to is His standard...
If we keep our eyes on Him and keep growing in His love and His truth, then, no matter what mistakes we have done in our past, He will lead us in His way to fulfill our destiny according to His plan. This is very possible since He is the Only Mighty God who always in control...

So there's no reason for us to be despair and stuck in our place right now with a painful headache because we think we are the one who have to fix and keep up with everything. In fact, we just need to do the first thing first, and the rest will follow... =)

Watch Your Self Talk and Apply Gratitude

Our self talk often goes undetected. Words we tell to ourselves like:

- I can't beat his/her skill
- I am a miserable man/woman, and always be like that
- I hate her/him for hurting me, no, I can't forgive her/him
- I'm a shy person, and I'm gonna stay this way
- she/he is so annoying, why can't she/he listen to me and do what I suggest?
- This trouble is too big, I can't handle this, whatever!
- etc

Our self talk could be about ourselves, our husband/wife, our friend, other people, or about condition/situation. It could be a condemnation, assumption, thoughts, or things we say to control our actions and reactions. And like any other talk, it could be positive or negative. But the most important thing that we should ask ourselves whenever we realize that we have our self talk is, whether it is in line with God's truth or not.

I has just realized that I have many wrong self talks, assumptions, jealousy, self-pity, and ignorance... If I didn't examine my self talk, they would go unnoticed for sure... and I would lose my chance to check myself and to fix my mindset.

Yesterday I read someone's writing, he shared about what he was doing to examine his self talk. He brought a little notepad and a pen, and he wrote every self talk that went on his mind about everything. How he was surprised to found that he had bad thoughts about his marriage, his wife, his job, and everything else... those little thoughts could sum up and become bigger and bigger, and at the end it has the potential to break or corrupt his own life...

We have to master our mind and submit it to God. Beside apply His words of truth into our mind, we have to make sure that we have a gratitude mindset.

"Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
1 Thessalonians 5:18

Paul is not telling you to be thankful for all the bad things that happen in your life, but rather we are to be thankful in our circumstances. There is a major difference between being thankful for every situation in life and being thankful in those situations. He challenges us to find reasons to be thankful even in the worst of struggles. Your circumstances might not change, but your attitude toward them can change, and that will make all the difference

We can simply focusing on the many things in our life for which we can be thankful. And making notes of them might help a lot... since we tend to forget the simple things...

You know, there are times when I ask, "What Your will for me God? Please lead me and show me Your will in my life..." I usually ask that question on specific things, but after I read that verse, apparently He had answered the basic of my question... His will for me is to have a gratitude life...

Login Trouble to Ciao

There's a login trouble in Ciao... It looks like they have banned Indonesian IP address... Too bad, cause I haven't withdrawn my first payment yet T_T

This is because there are so many Indonesian make plagiarism and dishonest reviews and also broke their TOS. I found a new "tricky" way to login, but I think this too won't last long, just like the previous "tricky" ways. Well... the moral of the story is, do pay attention to your attitude, because if something happen, you're not the only one who gets the consequences (whether it's good or bad).

Be Content and Desire More at The Same Time

One day, a guy calls up his Boss at home, but gets the bosses’ wife instead.
She said, “I’m sorry, but he died last week.”
The next day, the man calls up again and asks for his boss.
She said, “I told you, he died last week.”
The third day, the guy calls up again and asks for his boss.
The wife was mad and shouted, “Don’t you understand? I already told you twice—MY HUSBAND, YOUR BOSS, DIED LAST WEEK! Why do you keep on calling?”
The guy laughed and said, “Because I just love hearing it…”

Are You Stuck In Life?


Many people are like this guy: They wait for the boss to die.
He clearly hated his boss. So why didn’t he do something about it? He could have confronted the boss. He could have changed jobs.
Many people are stuck but they wait for things to change on their own.

Don’t wait for the boss to die on you—whatever “boss” means to you.
If you want your life to change, then you have to change.

Today, I want to share two fascinating stories to you.

The Businessman And The Fisherman

One day a fisherman was lying on a beautiful beach with his fishing pole propped up in the sand and his solitary line cast out into the sparkling blue surf.
He was enjoying the warmth of the afternoon sun and the prospect of catching a fish.
About that time, a businessman came walking down the beach trying to relieve some of the stress of his workday. He noticed the fisherman sitting on the beach and decided to find out why this fisherman was fishing instead of working harder to make a living for himself and his family.

“You aren’t going to catch many fish that way,” said the businessman to the fisherman, “you should be working rather than lying on the beach!”
The fisherman looked up at the businessman, smiled and replied, “And what will my reward be?”
“Well, you can get bigger nets and catch more fish!” was the businessman’s answer.
“And then what will my reward be?” asked the fisherman, still smiling.
The businessman replied, “You will make money and you’ll be able to buy a boat which will then result in larger catches of fish!”
“And then what will my reward be?” asked the fisherman again.
The businessman was beginning to get a little irritated with the fisherman’s questions.
“You can buy a bigger boat and hire some people to work for you!” he said.
“And then what will my reward be?” repeated the fisherman.
The businessman was getting angry. “Don’t you understand? You can build up a fleet of fishing boats, sail all over the world, and let all your employees catch fish for you!”
Once again the fisherman asked, “And then what will my reward be?”

The businessman was red with rage and shouted at the fisherman, “Don’t you understand that you can become so rich that you will never have to work for your living again! You can spend all the rest of your days sitting on this beach looking at the sunset. You won’t have a care in the world!”
The fisherman, still smiling, simply looked up, nodded and said: “And what do you think I am doing now?”

The Greatest Joy Of Life

Lovely story, right?
But may I poke a giant hole in this lovely story?
Think with me. If the fisherman decided to expand and “complicate” his life by setting up a large fishing business, wouldn’t he have been able to give jobs, feed their families, and serve many customers?

Aha.
I believe the biggest question of life isn’t “Who had the most fun?”
The biggest question of life is “Who loved the most?”

Being content with where you are is fantastic.
But growth, if required by love, is fantastic too.
At the end of the day, contentment and growth are important, but not the most important values. Love is!

This will solve this next problem…

Be Content and Desire Growth, At The Same Time?

This is absurd.
But this tension in fact is one of the secrets to extreme happiness.

You must learn to be content with what you have, and say “Thank You” often, and take time to celebrate and throw a party. Yet at the next breath, desire for better things, strive for higher summits, and embrace change.

How is that possible?
Love is the answer.

Now, let me tell you my second fascinating story.

The Stream And The Wind

One day, the Stream stared at the dessert—and sighed a deep sigh.
He knew he was stuck. How could he cross this giant dessert?
So the Stream talked to the Wind.
“Mr. Wind, I need your advice. I want to cross this gigantic dessert. But if I throw myself to it, the sand will absorb me and I will be no more…”
“That is true,” the Wind thought deeply.

“So what should I do? You see, I have a dream. I want to grow. I want more fish to make their home in me. I want more trees to plant their roots on my shoulders. I want happy families to have picnics on my banks. I want to bless the world with great love.”
The Wind smiled, “I can help you. I can absorb you and carry you through this dessert.”

The Stream was stunned. He said, “Isn’t that terrifying? What does that mean that you will absorb me?”
“That means that you’ll become a cloud and I’ll carry you to the other side of the dessert. Once there, you’ll become rain and you can become a stream again.”
“I’ll change my form? I’ll no longer be me?”

No One Can Resist Change

“Mr. Stream, you have three choices. Your first choice is to give up your dream and stay where you are.
The Stream said, “Out of the question. My dream of love pushes me to grow.”

“Your second choice,” said the Wind, “is to cross the dessert without changing anything. To dream and yet to prevent the dream from changing you.”

“And what is my third choice?”
“To dream and embrace change,” the Wind smiled.
“Carry me, Mr. Wind. I’m ready!” the Stream laughed.

Be Comfortable With Chaos

Immediately, the Wind rushed down and blew hard on the Stream. Bits and pieces of the Stream began to swirl upwards. It was terrifying. Chaos ruled!
For a moment, the Stream was gripped by the clutches of fear again.

So the Wind shouted through the chaos, “Who are you? You’re not a Stream. You’re Water! Your essence is not your form. When you know who you really are, you can be comfortable amidst the chaos. Because deep within you, you know that nothing will ever change.”

Water said, “But I am still afraid!”
“Love who you are and love your dream. Love the fish who will live in you, the trees who will be planted on your shoulders, and the families who will have picnics on your banks. And love will push all your fear away.”

Finally, at the other side of the dessert, the falling rain collected itself into a Stream again. When he was complete, he said, “Mr. Wind, I don’t know how to thank you. You changed me.”
The Wind smiled, “No, my friend. Only love can change you.”

What Is Your Path?

So what is your dream of love?
Like the Stream, you too have three choices…

Choice #1: Play Small

One day, a woman came up to me complaining about her husband.
“He’s not had a job for the past 6 years. I’m earning for the family,” she said.
“What is he doing at home?” I asked.
“Praying and reading the Bible. And reading your books!”

So I talked to him. The first thing he said was, “Bo, I love your books. Especially on simplicity. I’m now living the simple life. I’m so content with my life. That’s what you wrote about, right?”

For a moment, I wondered if I indeed wrote about it!

He then said something profound. “You see Bo, I’m now at this stage in my life where I’d rather be poor and close to God than be rich and far from God.”

Touching, right? Makes you want to cry.

If only it didn’t come from a husband and father who hasn’t had a job for 6 years.
For him, life was black and white. If you’re poor, you’re close to God. If you’re rich, you’re from God. It never occurred to him that it’s possible to be rich and close to God.

A poor fisherman fishing enough for his family is lovely. Simple. Comfortable. Peaceful. But here’s a question: In the off chance that God gave him the resources to grow and the chance to feed more people, shouldn’t he take it?

If you play small because love requires you to play small, then fine!
But if you play small because of fear, you’ll never be happy.

Choice #2: Dream Big But Remain Unchanged

There are two types of innovations.
Sustaining Innovations and Disrupting Innovations.

Let’s say you own a skateboard.
And your dream is to travel farther and faster.

Sustaining Innovations means you’ll improve your skateboard.
Perhaps you put more oil.
Perhaps you make the board more aerodynamic.
Perhaps you transform the material to high-grade flexible plastic.
Perhaps you change the wheels to titanium alloy.
Perhaps you take skateboarding lessons from the masters of skateboarding.

Disrupting Innovations are totally different.

Here you ask the dangerous question, “If I can change anything in my life, what will I change so I can reach my dream?”

Disrupting Innovations means throwing away the skateboard and getting a 3000 cc Harley Davidson motorcycle!

That’s difficult.

Disrupting Innovating believes that what took you to where you are now may not take you to where you want to go.
When people talk about change, they usually talk about Sustaining Innovations, not Disrupting Innovations.

Don’t get me wrong. Sustaining Innovations are crucial. We need to make them everyday. But they’re not enough. Especially if you have Big Dreams.
Because Big Dreams require that you embrace Big Changes—another word for Disrupting Innovations.

That leads us to the third choice…

Choice #3: Dream Big and Embrace Big Changes

I’ve noticed that people who can embrace big changes are those who know who they are apart from their job titles, positions, reputations, and labels. They know the difference between essence and form.

My spiritual family, Light of Jesus, is going through a Disrupting Innovation now. As we approach our 30th anniversary next year, we’re throwing away the skateboard and building ourselves not a motorcycle but a spaceship!

Because of our dream of discipling 100,000 by 2020, we’re now overhauling our structure, our meetings, our styles—almost everything we cherished and held dear to us. Nothing is untouchable.

Oh believe me, it’s unbelievably chaotic! Like a storm passing through us.

But I’m so happy that most of our leaders and members are going through the chaos with peace. Because they know their essence: they’re people who love God and love others. That will never change.

Hey, It’s Your Turn
Look at your life now.

1. Out of these 3 choices, what choice have you taken?

2. If you can change anything in your life to reach your dream, what will it be?

3. Are there Disrupting Innovations you’ve been putting aside?

Believe me.
Your answers to these questions will determine your destiny.

May your dreams come true,
Bo Sanchez

Source: http://bosanchez.ph/do-you-embrace-change/

Me Singing "White Horse" - Taylor Swift

Requested by Enjie =p

Singing "Love Story"

It's me singing "Love Story", originally sang by Taylor Swift.



Baru nemu lagu versi karaoke instrumental-nya di Youtube, setelah didenegerin ternyata lagunya cute juga =) jadi nyanyi deh hihihi...

Need Time Management

SOS

Phew... I think I really need time management. Lately I feel kind of exhausted, not my body, because I'm not tired of doing something physically. But it's my mind, and definitely, my eyes... =p I'm working on something that requires constant focus on my computer monitor.

Today I begin to modify my time management and trying to focus on things I have to do, one by one. It's so tempting to switch among things before one has been accomplished, that's why they were all absorbing my focus and time. Phew...

I have nothing much to say recently =p
Not like I used to do, I'm a blog freak no more, I have to admit hahaha....

Hope you are all well...

Passive Income

Kekayaan adalah sama dengan kemampuan untuk terus bertahan hidup dengan gaya hidup yang ada, tanpa harus bekerja.

Penelitian yg dilakukan oleh Gallup International menunjukkan bahwa rata-rata eksekutif ibukota & Asia kaya mampu bertahan 90 hari dengan gaya hidup yang ada apabila besok dia berhenti kerja. Setelah itu mereka harus mulai menjual asset atau berhutang.

Kaya adalah relatif. Sebagian orang merasa kaya ketika mempunyai uang 10 juta rupiah. Sebagian orang merasa tidak kaya walaupun sudah memiliki uang 10 milyar. Menurut majalah Forbes kaya adalah orang yang mempunyai penghasilan 1 juta US keatas setahunnya. Sedangkan menurut Robert T. Kiyosaki yang mengutip dari gurunya Buckminster Fuller bahwa kaya adalah bukan berapa besar active income anda melainkan kaya adalah apabila passive income lebih besar dari biaya hidup. Yang dimaksud passive income disini adalah uang yang masuk tanpa harus bekerja.

Sebagai perbandingan Mike Tyson, dia menghasilkan 300 juta USD sewaktu bertinju, tapi hari ini bangkrut dan masih berhutang 35 juta USD. Maka sebetulnya Mike Tyson bukan termasuk kaya, termasuk pula di dalam kategori orang yang bukan kaya adalah orang-orang yang punya penghasilan 1 Juta USD/tahun namun pengeluarannya 1,2 juta USD/tahun.

Pertanyaan penting kali ini adalah:

1.) Bila besok anda berhenti kerja, berapa lama anda dapat bertahan hidup dengan gaya hidup anda sekarang tanpa harus menjual asset-asset anda?

2.) Lalu bagaimana kita bisa kaya menurut versi Robert T. Kiyosaki dimana passive income lebih besar dari biaya hidup?

Jadi sebetulnya menurut Robert T. Kiyosaki, kaya adalah bagaimana menciptakan passive income lebih besar dari biaya hidup.

Cara membuat passive income:

- Royalti dari hak cipta
- Rumah yang disewakan/ dikostkan
- Saham-saham yang menghasilkan deviden
- Reksadana
- Usaha-usaha yang menghasilkan

Buatlah rangkaian rencana sumber pasif income anda. Sesuatu yang anda sukai dan dapat anda kerjakan sementara anda mengerjakan apa yang anda kerjakan sekarang.

Dan untuk mendapatkan materi tambahan eBook "24 Prinsip Miliarder yang Mencerahkan" senilai Rp. 250.000,- dan seminar 3 Hari Financial Revolution senilai Rp. 4.933.500,- oleh Tung Desem Waringin secara GRATIS bisa Anda dapatkan di TDW University.Com

Memorable Long Weekend

From Thursday to Sunday, I have a long weekend (day offs). Eum, okay well, it's not really a long weekend because I still came to my office on Saturday (just worked for a half day), but anyway let's just say it's a long weekend hehehe... because it's a special long weekend!

Me and my second family (my church community) were visited by Pastor Christopher and his wife, Vijaya (both of them are Indian, but they live in Malaysia). He shared about the cores of Christianity lifestyle (Father's Love, Breaking Ungodly Cycle and Godly Lifestyle). It was totally inspired. For me, it's a lot of confirmations. Hopefully next time I can write about what he shared in the next blog posts.

For 4 days we're not only simply being listeners =p We also accompanied them to go window shopping, walking around, and ate together ^_^ It was a fun experience ^_^ a real community... ^_^ Thanx for your coming to Surabaya Pastor Christopher and Mrs. Vijaya, it's been a pleasure ^.^

And... looks like there's a bit of "kuch kuch hota hai" hahahaha... No, I won't write the details here... it's too dangerous hahaha... Only few people knows hahaha... And, what makes me feel so happy is because this new experience has brought us closer together. Because usually me and my second family just meet each other once or twice a week, and we usually have quite similar activities (it doesn't mean all of those togetherness are boring things to do, not at all =p) but what had happened for the last 4 days was kind of refreshing and enriching our experience as a community.

We can know more of other's characters and habbits that rarely can be seen in usual activities. That's the most rewarding part for me ^o^ I hope we can be closer and more open to one another, in a healthy way as a community of course ^_^

Dad, thank You so much for the memorable long weekend ^.^

PS: Pastor Christopher and Mrs. Vijaya, welcome home to your house in Malay =p I suppose you are reading this after you got home =p This blog's post is dedicated to both of you ^_^

a Second Chance

Special Mention
(Source: Kerygma Mailing List)

“But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you.’” – Mark 16:7

Peter is one of my favorite Apostles. He loves Jesus yet he has done a lot of things that, if he had done them to another person, would have ended their relationship immediately. Peter was a person who was fiercely devoted to Christ that he was willing to do everything for Him. (He even cut off another person’s ear when Jesus was about to be arrested at Gethsemane.) He also said things that he wasn’t sure he could fulfill. (He said he would never deny Jesus but then renounced Him not once but three times a few hours later.)

Still, Jesus loved him and forgave him enough for the angel to tell the women at the tomb to inform Peter specifically that He is risen from the dead. How’s that for second chances?

I like Peter a lot because he reminds me of myself — willing to follow Christ, yet falling into things that I know are bad and that hurt Him. Yet even so, Jesus still forgives me and assures me that He loves me even if I do not deserve it at all. (*by Tina Matanguihan)

----------------------------------------------------

I got the above email this morning. And the bold sentence has poked me, it made me realize that I still have a scar in my heart that was caused by a person who said things that he wasn't sure he could fulfill (and at the end it has been proved that he couldn't fulfill the things he had said at the beginning).

But the fact is, I'm just the same with the person who has wounded me, I do need a second chance too... and I have received it from Him... Why wouldn't I also give a second chance to this person?

I wanna be like You, Father... please help me...

High Focus

Lagi semangat nih hihihi...
I'm learning something new....

and it's exciting!!!!

Makanya jadi jarang banget ngeblog kayak dulu hehehe...
Yah ini bagian dari proses peng-up grade-an diri hehehe

Sun Please Stay

I am drowned in the middle of the day
There is a lot to do
My passion is burning my hands
I don't realize time is running by

I see the sun is going to go down
She is waiting for her partner to take the night shift
...and I am so beyond lost
What have I done today?

Sun please stay
Don't go away yet
I still have many things to accomplish
Don't leave me now...

I guess the moon wouldn't mind
To wait just for a few hours
I need more time...
...yes... just a little bit more...

Don't let me wondering about things I haven't done today
If so I would have a bad dream in my sleep
The day is not meant to be over yet
Sun please stay...

...just a little bit more...

(by Fay)